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Abstract:
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The concept of recycling for the textile industry and other industries is based upon
eliminating the waste of valuable resources. Companies have long known that by
reducing waste, raw material cost savings and manufacturing process time savings can
be realized. Similarly, reuse and recycling of waste can also lead to significant cost
savings through reduction in the need for virgin raw materials. Raw materials
represent a significant portion of the cost of a product, and textile manufacturers are
realizing the need to recapture this cost in order to remain competitive during the global
changes occurring in the textile industry.
This research provided an understanding of the processing specifications required
for garnetting, carding, drawing, and rotor spinning of medium count yarns containing
varying blends of virgin polyester, solution-dyed polyester, virgin cotton, and recycled
cotton fiber. The yarns were knit into single-jersey fabrics and evaluated based on
fabric hand and appearance.
Results from this study determined that changes to standard processing
specifications for garnetting, drawing, and rotor spinning were required in order to
process polyester/recycled cotton materials. The effects of cotton type, polyester type,
fiber blend type, fiber blend level, and rotor spinning stock type on knit fabric
appearance and hand were significant. In general, the polyester/recycled cotton fabrics
had better appearance and hand when compared to polyester/virgin cotton fabrics.
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